I am currently awaiting results for my application to Lund University (MA in Archaeology). I have a few questions while I pass the time though.

1 - I have been learning some Swedish (via my Norweigan friend, oh the irony). He says that my pronunciation is very good (I apparently have a knack for languages). However I believe that as he is Norweigan the accent may be somewhat generic. Will my grasp of Swedish be unintelligible to a resident of Skane County/will I understand them? (as I hear the accent there is somewhat "broad").

2 - I will be arriving in Sweden with enough finances to last me for 1 year of study (my course is 2 years long). Are there any jobs or funding bodies that I could potentially apply to, in order to raise my income/savings?

3 - I am also vegetarian (jag ater inte kott); how will I know what is vegetarian friendly in Sweden (as I said, my Swedish is pretty bad at the moment =P). Moreover, I like to drink beer/ol (being Northern Irish =P), so how expensive would it be to have a regular drink in Lund?

4 - Finally; what is the culture like? I am somewhat outgoing and very forward (eg. it is somewhat in Irish culture to be rough mannered/coarse, yet friendly and warm to people). For example I have no qualms introducing myself to a group of strangers and initiating a friendly conversation. Many of us living in inner city Belfast also tend to swear a lot in our speech and act a little foolishly when drunk (singing and dancing on tables would be a favourite of myself and my friends). Would this be considered outlandish and unwanted in Sweden? I imagine I would naturally not be able to act as crazily as we would here, but how different is the social life/people to that of the Irish/Northern Irish? I am terrified of being treated like a "barbarian outcast" or something.

5 - I also would not mind the prospect of perhaps finding a girlfriend while over there (as the few Swedish women I met while helping the Erasmus programme were intelligent, very friendly and quite beautiful); how hard would this be (as I hear rumours that Swedes do not take kindly to foreigners, although I am not sure).

Apologies for the large post (and amount of questions); and thank you for reading!

1. Norwegian and Skånska could not be farther apart. I remember the first time I spoke with a person from Skåne (5 years ago or so) and it was the same experience as the first time I spoke with a person from Scotland (7 years ago). Total confusion and disbelief

I mean, just watch this short clip below, jump to 2:00. Does your Norwegian friend speak anything resembling this?

It should not be a big problem for you though since the majority of students and faculty members are not going to be local. Just keep on learning, any Swedish is going to be helpful even if it's going to be flavoured with some Norwegian

2. There are plenty of jobs you can apply to, but you are unlikely to get any unless you know Swedish and have solid experience in engineering. There are plenty of other students in the same situation.

3. I'm a part time vegetarian myself. The only great vegetarian dishes widely available in Lund are falafel and potato salad. Other than that, it is just lousy pizzerias and a miserable Indian restaurant. A beer will be about 50 SEK.

4. Since it is a student town, it can get a bit crazy at times. I have not seen any dancing on the tables, but do report here on the forum after you've given it a try.

There's the occasional (rare) bomb explosion in the center so you should feel right at home in this respect .

5. Finding a girlfriend should be a rather trivial task given the amount of students in the town. Finding an intelligent, friendly and beautiful one, on the other hand... well, it's really up to you.

1 - I have been learning some Swedish (via my Norweigan friend, oh the irony). He says that my pronunciation is very good (I apparently have a knack for languages). However I
... (show full quote)

1 - I have been learning some Swedish (via my Norweigan friend, oh the irony). He says that my pronunciation is very good (I apparently have a knack for languages). However I believe that as he is Norweigan the accent may be somewhat generic. Will my grasp of Swedish be unintelligible to a resident of Skane County/will I understand them? (as I hear the accent there is somewhat "broad").
... (hide full quote)

I know that students in Lund are not only from Skåne, there are people from all over the country. You will probably meet some students that you will understand perfectly while others have such a deep dialect you won`t understand anything. But learning swedish from a norweigan is probably the next best thing after learning swedish from a Swede since the two languages are so closely related. You will probably do fine. But if you wanted to learn the dialect in Skåne, skånskan, then you would be better off learning swedish from a danish friend.

QUOTE (Diddly_Feelerino @ 23.Jan.2013, 03:51 AM)

2 - I will be arriving in Sweden with enough finances to last me for 1 year of study (my course is 2 years long). Are there any jobs or funding bodies that I could potentially
... (show full quote)

2 - I will be arriving in Sweden with enough finances to last me for 1 year of study (my course is 2 years long). Are there any jobs or funding bodies that I could potentially apply to, in order to raise my income/savings?
... (hide full quote)

There are a few pubs that could be worth checking out, otherwise it`s mostly restaurants or shops that hire students. Thing is that you will be competing with loads of other swedish students who have a better contacts or experience. You could work for some of the student nations to get a free meal and liquor from time to time, other then that it`s hard. Be creative and offer something only you can, why not hold riverdance classes?

QUOTE (Diddly_Feelerino @ 23.Jan.2013, 03:51 AM)

3 - I am also vegetarian (jag ater inte kott); how will I know what is vegetarian friendly in Sweden (as I said, my Swedish is pretty bad at the moment =P). Moreover, I like t
... (show full quote)

3 - I am also vegetarian (jag ater inte kott); how will I know what is vegetarian friendly in Sweden (as I said, my Swedish is pretty bad at the moment =P). Moreover, I like to drink beer/ol (being Northern Irish =P), so how expensive would it be to have a regular drink in Lund?
... (hide full quote)

The word for vegetarian in swedish is the same and you should look for "vegetariskt" which is the word for vegetarian dishes. Most if not all restaurants offer it, especially in a student town like Lund. When it comes to drinking beer it won`t come any cheaper then in the student nations in Lund. The beer go at about 2£ there, everywhere else it`s more like 5£.

QUOTE (Diddly_Feelerino @ 23.Jan.2013, 03:51 AM)

4 - Finally; what is the culture like? I am somewhat outgoing and very forward (eg. it is somewhat in Irish culture to be rough mannered/coarse, yet friendly and warm to peopl
... (show full quote)

4 - Finally; what is the culture like? I am somewhat outgoing and very forward (eg. it is somewhat in Irish culture to be rough mannered/coarse, yet friendly and warm to people). For example I have no qualms introducing myself to a group of strangers and initiating a friendly conversation. Many of us living in inner city Belfast also tend to swear a lot in our speech and act a little foolishly when drunk (singing and dancing on tables would be a favourite of myself and my friends). Would this be considered outlandish and unwanted in Sweden? I imagine I would naturally not be able to act as crazily as we would here, but how different is the social life/people to that of the Irish/Northern Irish? I am terrified of being treated like a "barbarian outcast" or something.
... (hide full quote)

Well the culture can be anything you make it. Sure there is probably some swedish student culture that`s more swedish then any other countries student culture but it`s hardly something set in stone. You decide what you want from it. If you want to meet new people then sign up at one of the student nations, find social groups online, join a club or do sports. If you want to stand on chairs and tables singning you should do that at the appropriate student association dinners that the student nations do, a.k.a "sittning";http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RviR-ZbxzvQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfX1ikhxb1kTry that at the bar, pub, restaurant or nightclub and you will probably get kicked out. But do what you want, don`t care what others think.

QUOTE (Diddly_Feelerino @ 23.Jan.2013, 03:51 AM)

5 - I also would not mind the prospect of perhaps finding a girlfriend while over there (as the few Swedish women I met while helping the Erasmus programme were intelligent, v
... (show full quote)

5 - I also would not mind the prospect of perhaps finding a girlfriend while over there (as the few Swedish women I met while helping the Erasmus programme were intelligent, very friendly and quite beautiful); how hard would this be (as I hear rumours that Swedes do not take kindly to foreigners, although I am not sure).
... (hide full quote)

Swedes are just as open as one can be but they can be just as narrow-minded as any other. They take kindly to people that want to do right by themselves but have little over for those that come to exploit anything and everything they can. But given the posts on here it`s obvious Swedes get around, if you are foreign or not. Read around here and you will see that swedish girls can be intelligent, friendly and stunning but some can be horrible ice queens. If you come over with a relaxed attitude and not some desperate "I wanna get with as many blonde Swedes as possilbe" you will probably do fine.

Loving the cheeky puns you are all firing my way; things have certainly got off with a "bang" here =PIf half of Sweden has such a cheeky attitude I think I will grow to love the place in no time!

Regarding the language - my Norweigan friend dismissed Skane as "hick country"... but said that they will understand me (and, given a week, I will too).. if any residents of Skane wish to know his home details so you can enact revenge for his insults I will gladly give you them =P. I should also note that the Stockholm girls on the Erasmus programme said my accent was very good! I remember giving one of them a fright, as she did not know I knew any Swedish, until I heard her say something at the bar and I said "Jag kan forsta att du, van"

I was hoping to get a job at a normal/Irish bar (yes, selling my nationality and my culture out for wages =P)

Regarding drinking; that is glad to hear - SEK 20 in a student union is a godsend; regarding the dancing/singing; I will observe first before going mad. Moreover, being a bit of a drinker I was worried that prices would be too high (I still don't know the price of a 6-pack in the Systembolaget ¬_¬)

Good to hear that Vegetarian meals are readily available.

Finally, regarding Swedish women; well I DID hook up with one of the Stockholm girls; in fact it was she who introduced me to the programme in Lund! So I hope that my attitude/demeanour will be enough... just worried in casewomen frown upon things like holding the door open/insisting on paying for the dinner etc. Its not that I do it to be sexist, but just because its the nice thing to do

Don't worry about the Skåne accent, the Swedes like to over-exaggerate, but the difference Stockholm and Skåne accents is like the difference between a Cork accent and a Belfast accent. Yes, they sound different but people can understand each other no problem. Besides, Lund is the Oxford of Sweden so many people speak very refined/snobby Swedish. Try and pick up Skånska instead. It has charm, it's the Swedish equivalent to Geordie. Much better that than to sound like you are from Oxford.

There are no Irish pubs in Lund but a couple of very plastic ones in Malmö (Fagan's is one). I tend to keep away from them. If you are Irish and can play two chords on a guitar and know the lyrics to Whiskey in the Jar (ability to sing is optional) they might even employ you to play on stage on a Saturday night. It really is that plastic.

Lund is probably vegetarian central. Just follow the girls with the Fjäll Räven Kånke backpacks and you are bound to find a vegetarian restaurant. Apparently a place called Govinda's is very good.

Nightlife in Lund is absolutely depressing. The streets are empty on a Friday or Saturday night. There are "Student Nations" where only students go. I've been in them once or twice but these are like going to a school disco in, I don't know, the Monaghan countryside or something. Tiny places playing Lady Gaga on underpowered sound systems that empty out at 1 am. However, Malmö (10 mins by train) has decent nightlife and so does Copenhagen (40 mins by train).

Regarding meeting people of the fairer sex, some are very anti-foreigner. Others are not. Some of the others might see you as an adventure, but are looking to settle down with a Swede long-term. It's a bit of a lottery.

Finally, regarding Swedish women; well I DID hook up with one of the Stockholm girls; in fact it was she who introduced me to the programme in Lund! So I hope that my atti
... (show full quote)

Finally, regarding Swedish women; well I DID hook up with one of the Stockholm girls; in fact it was she who introduced me to the programme in Lund! So I hope that my attitude/demeanour will be enough... just worried in case women frown upon things like holding the door open/insisting on paying for the dinner etc. Its not that I do it to be sexist, but just because its the nice thing to do
... (hide full quote)

It`s not unheard of that people who volunteer to work with such programs are there to hook up with foreigners, don`t expect everyone will fall at your feets and you will do good. Or if you really get desperate then you could turn to some international social groups around Lund and Malmö, bound to be swedish women there open to foreigners.

In regards to the MA archaeology program, cheers to you if you get in. I applied last year and was denied due to being short a couple classes they said I needed, but yet they wouldn't tell me what classes I needed. Just a flat out rejection with no help, pretty devastating. I went to the director, the student service helper, and the university admissions and no one could freakin' help me. It almost seemed that they only wanted to pull students that went through the bachelors program in Lund for the MA program and not consider any others.

That being said I love Lund, a nice, busy, fun atmosphere unlike other parts of Sweden. The Skane accent can be quite hard (and funny!), but honestly in Lund, a college town you really don't have to worry about it. Hell even spending a day in Malmo you can go without hearing a Skane accent.

You ask about Women, lots in Lund! That being said you will probably meet plenty and not necessarily Swedish. I had a German friend who did an internship here and met a Argentinian guy and they both ended up moving back to Germany together.

Okay, so I am sorry I must warn you - Swede's to me (my own personal opinion to all the trolls reading this) are quite cold, reserved, and just seem not too friendly. Have I met Swede's that are nice, sure I have, but overall it is quite difficult to break into their world. However, living in Lund will probably be really nice and hopefully you will not have any trouble. Best of luck!

It`s not unheard of that people who volunteer to work with such programs are there to hook up with foreigners, don`t expect everyone will fall at your feets and you wi
... (show full quote)

It`s not unheard of that people who volunteer to work with such programs are there to hook up with foreigners, don`t expect everyone will fall at your feets and you will do good. Or if you really get desperate then you could turn to some international social groups around Lund and Malmö, bound to be swedish women there open to foreigners.
... (hide full quote)

Well it's not that - I'm not desperate. I just wish to know if there are some DOS and DONTS specifically relating to Swedish dating. The girl I met was very friendly and tolerant of our "quirks" (ie. our love of saying the "f" word). Again I stress that I'm not desperately seeking companionship - I just would like to know a few wee tips in the event that I do end up meeting someone there

UPDATE - thanks Snarky; fingers crossed I get in. Sitting on a 2.1 anyway so it should be sufficient

Regarding the women - oh dear. I just hope I can find one who loves a party and classic rock, and who can drink me under the table